Though all the usualy caveats apply about the politicization of the Courts, as the 4th circuit court of appeals drew a 3-democrat panel of jurists, and the 6th circuit drew 2 republicans and 1 democrat, and it'll all come down to Anthony Kennedy in the end.

4 comments:

This is a circular argument: You use a clause of a regulation that sets an impractical requirement to derive the need for an unconstitutional mandate called for by the same regulation that sets the requirement.

It also does not logically follow the the only way the private sector can do this is to require universal health care. In fact, the facts argue against this, since the shortfall to universal health care will be absorbed by the government, and therefore will not offset the costs incurred by the private insurers.

It's not my argument, but one from a professor at the Yale School of Law, and I am pretty sure they teach logic there.

From my limited understanding, in order to be constitutional, the mandate need not be the "only" means to accomplish a goal, but be "rationally" related to accomplishing a given legitimate goal. The law does not even require that a given regulation be the "best" let alone the "only" method. To claim that it must be the sole means would create a burden of proof so high that no government regulation could ever meet that test.

If you had read the article, you would note that the author addressed this directly.

Shadowfax

About me: I am an ER physician and administrator living in the Pacific Northwest. I live with my wife and four kids. Various other interests include Shorin-ryu karate, general aviation, Irish music, Apple computers, and progressive politics. My kids do their best to ensure that I have little time to pursue these hobbies.

Disclaimer

This blog is for general discussion, education, entertainment and amusement. Nothing written here constitutes medical advice nor are any hypothetical cases discussed intended to be construed as medical advice. Please do not contact me with specific medical questions or concerns. All clinical cases on this blog are presented for educational or general interest purposes and every attempt has been made to ensure that patient confidentiality and HIPAA are respected. All cases are fictionalized, either in part or in whole, depending on how much I needed to embellish to make it a good story to protect patient privacy.

All Content is Copyright of the author, and reproduction is prohibited without permission.